Lenovo Flex System FC3171 8Gb SAN Switch and Pass-
thru Modules
Product Guide
The Lenovo® Flex System™ FC3171 8Gb SAN Switch is a full-fabric Fibre Channel component with expanded
functionality. The SAN switch supports high speed traffic processing for Flex System configurations, and offers
scalability in external SAN size and complexity, and enhanced systems management capabilities. The Lenovo
Flex System FC3171 8Gb Pass-thru supports a fully interoperable solution for seamless integration of the Fibre
Channel initiators to an existing fabric. The pass-thru module uses industry-standard N_Port ID virtualization
(NPIV) technology to provide a cost-effective connectivity solution for the Flex System chassis.
The following figure shows the module.
Figure 1. Lenovo Flex System FC3171 8Gb SAN Switch and Pass-thru
Did you know?
The FC3171 Switch is licensed to operate in either full-fabric mode or intelligent pass-thru mode, and the
FC3171 Pass-thru operates in the intelligent pass-thru mode.
These modules allow Flex System integration with any open-standards-based SAN, whether the module has
enterprise open-system fabric functionality using the full-fabric mode (with the FC3171 Switch only), or the
module has transparent switching functionality using the intelligent pass-thru mode (with the FC3171 Switch or
Pass-Thru).
Lenovo Flex System FC3171 8Gb SAN Switch and Pass-thru Modules 1
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Part number information
The part numbers to order the switch and optional upgrades are shown in the following table.
Table 1. Part numbers and feature codes for ordering
Description Part number Feature code
Lenovo Flex System FC3171 8Gb SAN Switch 69Y1930 A0TD
Lenovo Flex System FC3171 8Gb SAN Pass-thru 69Y1934 A0TJ
Unlike FC3171 8Gb SAN Switch full-fabric operations, the pass-thru module concentrates multiple compute
nodes into the external ports. The external ports connect to external Fibre Channel switches that support
NPIV. The internal ports connect directly to compute nodes through the chassis backplanes. The pass-thru
module presents one or more compute nodes per port to the fabric. The pass-thru module expands the fabric,
but, unlike a full-fabric switch, it does not count against the fabric domain.
The part number includes the following items:
One Lenovo Flex System FC3171 8Gb SAN Switch or Pass-thru module
Important Notices Flyer
Warranty Flyer
Documentation CD-ROM
The modules do not include a serial management cable; however, the Flex System Management Serial Access
Cable, 90Y9338, is supported and contains two cables, a mini-USB-to-RJ45 serial cable and a mini-USB-to-
DB9 serial cable, either of which can be used to connect to the switch locally for configuration tasks and
firmware updates.
The switch comes without any SFP+ transceivers, they must be ordered separately to provide outside
connectivity. The following table lists supported SFP+ options and optical cables for them.
Table 2. Supported SFP+ transceivers
Description Part
number
Feature
code
Maximum
supported
Transceivers - 8 Gb (operating at 8 Gbps and 4 Gbps)
8Gb SFP+ SW Optical Transceiver 44X1964 5075 6
Cables for SFP+ transceivers
Lenovo 0.5m LC-LC OM3 MMF Cable 00MN499 ASR5 6
Lenovo 1m LC-LC OM3 MMF Cable 00MN502 ASR6 6
Lenovo 3m LC-LC OM3 MMF Cable 00MN505 ASR7 6
Lenovo 5m LC-LC OM3 MMF Cable 00MN508 ASR8 6
Lenovo 10m LC-LC OM3 MMF Cable 00MN511 ASR9 6
Lenovo 15m LC-LC OM3 MMF Cable 00MN514 ASRA 6
Lenovo 25m LC-LC OM3 MMF Cable 00MN517 ASRB 6
Lenovo 30m LC-LC OM3 MMF Cable 00MN520 ASRC 6
Benefits
Lenovo Flex System FC3171 8Gb SAN Switch and Pass-thru Modules 2
Benefits
The switch offers the following key benefits:
Easy to install and manage
On-board GUI — no software to load. Just point a web browser at any switch and manage the entire
fabric from that location. No matter what your level of expertise, the web-based QuickTools interface
has all you need for basic fabric management.
Fast, reliable performance
The switch provides uncontested “wire speed” bandwidth at every port — a total of 320 Gbps per
switch with less than 4 ms fabric latency.
Interoperability
The switch supports FC-SW-2 interoperability standards and transparent mode of operations to simplify
integration into a multi-vendor fabric.
Investment protection
The switch provides low total cost of ownership (TCO) with quick set up and easy to manage integrated
tools.
Features and specifications
The FC3171 8Gb SAN Switch and Pass-thru have the following features and specifications:
Internal ports:
14 internal full-duplex 8 Gb FC ports
Internal ports operate as F_ports (fabric ports) on the FC3171 8Gb SAN Switch
Internal ports operate as TH_Ports (transparent host ports) on the FC3171 8Gb SAN Pass-thru
Two internal full-duplex 1 GbE ports connected to the chassis management module
External ports:
Six external ports for 8 Gb SFP+ transceivers supporting 4 Gb and 8 Gb port speeds (SFP+
modules are not included and must be purchased separately - see Table 2)
External ports can operate as F_ports (fabric ports), FL_ports (fabric loop ports), or E_ports
(expansion ports) on the FC3171 8Gb SAN Switch
External ports operate as TF_Ports (Transparent Fabric Ports) on the FC3171 8Gb SAN Pass-thru
One external 100 Mb Fast Ethernet (100BASE-TX) port with RJ-45 connector for switch
configuration and management
One RS-232 serial port (mini-USB connector) that provides an additional means to configure the
switch module
Transparent (N_Port ID Virtualization - NPIV) mode support
Power-on self-test diagnostics and status reporting
Support for Non-Disruptive Code Load Activation (NDCLA)
Registered State Change Notification (RSCN):
The switch supports RSCN as described in FC-FLA. RSCN enables an agent to register for change
events in the fabric and attached devices.
Support for standards-based FC-SW2 interoperability
Error detection:
Cyclic redundancy check (CRC)
8-byte and 10-byte conversion
Parity
Long frame and short frame
D_ID mismatch
S_ID mismatch
Frame bundling:
No frame bundling (frames are intermixed from different source ports)
Soft lockdown (the I/O module waits for the sequence to be completed or a gap in the frame
Lenovo Flex System FC3171 8Gb SAN Switch and Pass-thru Modules 3
traffic to occur before it services requests from a different port)
Configurable Fabric Address Notification (FAN)
Supports up to 239 switches depending on configuration
8 Gb switch fabric aggregate bandwidth: 320 Gbps at full duplex
Maximum frame size: 2148 bytes (2112 byte payload)
Nonblocking architecture to prevent latency
Fabric Latency: Less than 4 ms
Support for Call Home function
Support for Domain Name Service (DNS)
Support for Internet protocol (IP) Version 4 and Version 6
Support for Internet protocol security (IPsec)
Support for separate trap community strings for each trap address
Support for Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) Version 3
Support for vital product data (VPD)
Easier SAN maintenance, isolation and troubleshooting with SANdoctor that is a part of base firmware
Optional small form-factor pluggable plus (SFP+) modules
The following software features come with the switch module:
QuickTools Web interface
Fabric Security
The switch supports the following management methods:
Web interface through QuickTools
Command-line interface through SSH (Telnet is also supported but disabled by default)
Switch simple network management protocol (SNMP) agent: enables a network management
workstation to receive configuration values, traffic information, and Fibre Channel failure data through
SNMP and the Ethernet interface
Supported standards
The switch supports the following Fibre Channel standards:
C-PH version 4.3
FC-PH-2
FC-PH-3
FC-AL version 4.5
FC-AL-2 Rev 7.0
FC-FLA
FC-GS-3
FC-FG
FC-PLDA
FC-Tape
FC-VI
FC-SW-2
Fibre Channel Element MIB RFC 2837
Fibre Alliance MIB version 4.0
Lenovo Flex System FC3171 8Gb SAN Switch and Pass-thru Modules 4
Supported chassis and adapters
The switches are installed in I/O module bays in the rear of the Flex System chassis as shown in the following
figure. Switches are normally installed in pairs because ports on the I/O adapter cards installed in the compute
nodes are routed to two I/O bays for redundancy and performance.
Figure 2. Location of the I/O bays in the Flex System chassis
The Flex System FC3171 8Gb SAN Switch and Pass-thru modules can be installed in I/O bays 1, 2, 3, and 4 of
the Flex System chassis. Up to four FC3171 modules supported in a chassis. A supported adapter card must
be installed in a corresponding slot of the compute node.
With compute nodes that have an integrated dual-port 10 GbE network interface controller (NIC) the FC3171
modules can only be installed in bays 3 and 4 because integrated NICs ports are routed to bays 1 and 2 with a
specialized periscope connector and the FC adapter card cannot be installed in the slot that is routed to I/O
bays 1 and 2. However, when needed, the periscope connector can be replaced with an FC adapter card, in
which case integrated NIC will be disabled and FC modules can be used in bays 1 and 2.
The following table shows compatibility information for the FC3171 modules and Flex System chassis.
Table 3. Flex System chassis compatibility
Description Part
number
Enterprise
Chassis with
CMM
Enterprise
Chassis with
CMM2
Carrier-grade
Chassis with
CMM2
Lenovo Flex System FC3171 8Gb SAN Switch 69Y1930 Yes Yes No
Lenovo Flex System FC3171 8Gb SAN Pass-thru 69Y1934 Yes Yes No
The connections between the adapters installed in the compute nodes to the switch bays in the chassis are
shown diagrammatically in the following figure. The figure shows both half-wide servers, such as the x240 with
two adapters, and full-wide servers, such as the x440 with four adapters.
Lenovo Flex System FC3171 8Gb SAN Switch and Pass-thru Modules 5
Figure 3. Logical layout of the interconnects between I/O adapters and FC3171 modules
The following table shows the connections between adapters installed in the compute nodes to the switch
bays in the chassis with Flex System FC3171 8Gb SAN switches or Pass-thru modules and supported dual-
port FC adapters.
Table 4. Adapter to I/O bay correspondence
I/O adapter slot
in the compute node
Port on the adapter Corresponding I/O module bay in the chassis
Bay 1 Bay 2 Bay 3 Bay 4
Slot 1 Port 1 Yes
Port 2 Yes
Slot 2 Port 1 Yes
Port 2 Yes
Slot 3
(full-wide compute nodes only)
Port 1 Yes
Port 2 Yes
Slot 4
(full-wide compute nodes only)
Port 1 Yes
Port 2 Yes
The following table lists the storage I/O adapters supported by the FC3171 8Gb SAN Switch and Pass-thru
modules.
Lenovo Flex System FC3171 8Gb SAN Switch and Pass-thru Modules 6
Table 5. Storage adapters
Description Part number Feature code
16 Gb Fibre Channel
Flex System FC5172 2-port 16Gb FC Adapter 69Y1942 A1BQ
8 Gb Fibre Channel
Flex System FC3172 2-port 8Gb FC Adapter 69Y1938 A1BM
Flex System FC3052 2-port 8Gb FC Adapter 95Y2375 A2N5
The adapters are installed in slots in each compute node. The following figure shows the locations of the slots
in the x240 Compute Node. The positions of the adapters in the other supported servers are similar.
Figure 4. Location of the I/O adapter slots in the Flex System x240 Compute Node
Connectors and LEDs
Lenovo Flex System FC3171 8Gb SAN Switch and Pass-thru Modules 7
Connectors and LEDs
The following figure shows the front panel of the Flex System FC3171 8Gb SAN Switch and Pass-thru.
Figure 5. Front panel of the Flex System FC3171 8Gb SAN Switch and Pass-thru
The front panel contains the following components:
LEDs that display the status of the switch module and the fabric:
OK LED indicates that the switch module has passed the power-on self-test (POST) with no
critical faults and is operational.
Identify: This Blue LED can be used to identify the switch physically, by illuminating via the
management software.
Error LED (switch module error) indicates that the switch module has failed the POST or detected
an operational fault.
One mini-USB RS-232 console port that provides an additional means to configure the switch module.
This mini-USB-style connector enables connection of a special serial cable. (The cable is optional and it
is not included with the switch; see the Part number information section for details).
One 100 Mb Fast Ethernet RJ-45 port for switch configuration and management
Six external SFP+ port connectors to attach SFP+ modules for 8 Gb or 4 Gb connections to external
Fibre Channel devices
An FC link error LED, an FC Tx/Rx LED, and FC Logged-in LED for each external port on the switch
Cabling requirements
The cables that can be used with the FC3171 modules are shown in the following table.
Table 6. CN4093 network cabling requirements
Transceiver Standard Cable Connector
8 Gb Fibre Channel
8Gb SFP+ SW Optical
Transceiver (44X1964)
FC-PI-4 (8GFC,
4GFC)
Up to 30 m with fiber optic cables supplied by Lenovo
(see Table 2); 850 nm multimode fiber, 50 µ OM3 (up to
150 m at 8 Gbps; up to 380 m at 4 Gbps) or 62.5 µ (up
to 21 m at 8 Gbps; up to 70 m at 4 Gbps)
LC
Management ports
External Fast Ethernet
management port
100BASE-TX UTP Category 5, 5E, and 6 up to 100 meters RJ-45
External RS-232
management port
RS-232 DB-9-to-mini-USB or RJ-45-to-mini-USB console cable
(comes with optional Management Serial Access Cable,
90Y9338)
Mini-USB
Warranty
Lenovo Flex System FC3171 8Gb SAN Switch and Pass-thru Modules 8
Warranty
The modules carry a 1-year, customer-replaceable unit (CRU) limited warranty. When installed in a chassis,
these modules assume your system’s base warranty and any Lenovo warranty service upgrade.
Physical specifications
The approximate dimensions and weight of the switch are as follows:
Height: 30 mm (1.2 in.)
Width: 401 mm (15.8 in.)
Depth: 317 mm (12.5 in.)
Weight: 3.0 kg (6.6 lb)
Shipping dimensions and weight (approximate):
Height: 114 mm (4.5 in.)
Width: 508 mm (20.0 in.)
Depth: 432 mm (17.0 in.)
Weight: 3.4 kg (7.6 lb)
Operating environment
Temperature and altitude
Operating: 10°C to 52°C (50°F to 125.6°F) at an altitude of 0 to 914 m (0 to 3000 ft)
Operating: 10°C to 49° C (50°F to 120.2°F) at an altitude of 0 to 3000 m (0 to 10 000 ft)
Non-operating: -40°C to 65°C (-40°F to 149°F) at an altitude of 0 to 12 000 m (0 to 39 370 ft)
Humidity
Operating: 8% to 80%, noncondensing
Non-operating: 5% to 80%, noncondensing
Agency approvals
The modules conform to the following regulations:
FCC Title 47 CFR Part 15 Subpart B Class A (USA)
VCCI Class A ITE, April 2003 (Japan)
ICES-003 issue 3 (Canada)
A4EN55022 level A (EC)
Voltage fluctuations: EN 61000-3-3
Harmonics: EN 61000-3-2
Immunity: EN55024: 1998
C-Tick - AS/NZS CISPR 22 (Australia/New Zealand)
CE Mark - EN55022:1998 + A2:2003 and EN55024:1998 + A1:2001 + A2:2003
MIC Notice No. 2001-115 and No. 2001-116 (Korea)
GOST 29216-91 (Russia)
CISPR 22 Class A
BSMI CNS 13438 (Taiwan)
Communique No. 2004/9 and No. 2004/22 (Turkey)
EMC.CVG, 28 October 2002 (Saudi Arabia)
GB 9524:1998 (China)
Lenovo Flex System FC3171 8Gb SAN Switch and Pass-thru Modules 9
Typical configurations
The following usage scenarios are described in this section:
Direct-attached FC storage with the FC3171 SAN Switch in the Full Fabric mode
SAN-attached FC storage with the FC3171 SAN Switch or Pass-thru in the Intelligent Pass-thru mode
Note: For more information about supported FC end-to-end configurations, see the following System Storage
Interoperation Center (SSIC) website:
http://ibm.com/systems/support/storage/ssic
Direct-attached FC storage with the FC3171 SAN Switch in the Full Fabric mode
The FC3171 direct-attached FC storage solution is based on the Flex System chassis with a 8 Gb Fibre
Channel infrastructure and 8 Gb or 16 Gb FC Host Bus Adapters (HBAs) that are installed in each compute
node. In the Full Fabric mode, the FC3171 SAN Switch can be directly connected to the Storwize
V3700/V5000/V7000 storage systems with FC interfaces by using the external 8 Gb FC ports, as shown in the
following figure.
Figure 6. Direct-attached FC storage with the FC3171 SAN Switch
SAN-attached FC storage with the FC3171 SAN Switch or Pass-thru in the Intelligent Pass-thru mode
In the Intelligent Pass-thru mode, the FC3171 SAN Switches and Pass-thru modules can be transparently
connected to the Brocade and Cisco MDS FC SAN switches and Storwize V3700/V5000/V7000 storage
systems, as shown in Figure 7 and Figure 8.
Lenovo Flex System FC3171 8Gb SAN Switch and Pass-thru Modules 10
Figure 7. SAN-attached FC storage with the FC3171 SAN Switch or Pass-thru and Brocade SAN switches
Figure 8. SAN-attached FC storage with the FC3171 SAN Switch or Pass-thru and Cisco MDS switches
Related publications and links
Lenovo Flex System FC3171 8Gb SAN Switch and Pass-thru Modules 11
Related publications and links
For more information see the following Flex System FC3171 8Gb SAN Switch and Pass-thru product
publications, available from the Flex System Information Center:
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/flexsys/information/index.jsp
SAN Switch and SAN Pass-thru User's Guide
Quick Tools User's Guide
Command Line Interface User's Guide
CIM Agent Reference Guide
Event Message Reference Guide
Simple Network Management Protocol Reference Guide
Other documents:
US Announcement Letter 112-053
http://ibm.com/common/ssi/cgi-bin/ssialias?infotype=dd&subtype=ca&&htmlfid=897/ENUS112-053
Flex System Products and Technology , SG24-8255
http://lenovopress.com/sg248255
Product Guides for Flex System servers and options
http://lenovopress.com/flexsystem
Flex System Interoperability Guide
http://lenovopress.com/redpfsig
Related product families
Product families related to this document are the following:
Embedded SAN Switches
Blade Storage Modules
Lenovo Flex System FC3171 8Gb SAN Switch and Pass-thru Modules 12
Notices
Lenovo may not offer the products, services, or features discussed in this document in all countries. Consult your local
Lenovo representative for information on the products and services currently available in your area. Any reference to a
Lenovo product, program, or service is not intended to state or imply that only that Lenovo product, program, or service
may be used. Any functionally equivalent product, program, or service that does not infringe any Lenovo intellectual
property right may be used instead. However, it is the user's responsibility to evaluate and verify the operation of any
other product, program, or service. Lenovo may have patents or pending patent applications covering subject matter
described in this document. The furnishing of this document does not give you any license to these patents. You can
send license inquiries, in writing, to:
Lenovo (United States), Inc.
1009 Think Place - Building One
Morrisville, NC 27560
U.S.A.
Attention: Lenovo Director of Licensing
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The products described in this document are not intended for use in implantation or other life support applications
where malfunction may result in injury or death to persons. The information contained in this document does not affect
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Lenovo product, and use of those Web sites is at your own risk. Any performance data contained herein was
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these measurements will be the same on generally available systems. Furthermore, some measurements may have been
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This document, TIPS0866, was created or updated on May 29, 2015.
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Lenovo Flex System FC3171 8Gb SAN Switch and Pass-thru Modules 13
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Lenovo Flex System FC3171 8Gb SAN Switch and Pass-thru Modules 14
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